Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

You may not feel like that describes you in your children’s ministry, but the truth is that with every little–and big–risk you take to lead your ministry in innovation, you’re heroic! And in the last year, you’ve been leading the way to reinvent your children’s ministry to be even more effective in reaching children.

That’s what our exclusive research reveals.

Sure, some of the changes may seem almost imperceptible. But it’s funny how things change rather slowly, until the day comes along when we realize that they’ve changed completely. While the foundations of children’s ministry remain firm, your approach clearly evolves and some might even say that the outward appearance is drastically altered.

For all this change to occur, everyday people–risk takers–are willing to challenge the status quo, follow their dreams and convictions, and face challenges that have stood in the way of positive change. These people have asked these questions: Is our current approach to children’s ministry truly effective? Are we doing all we can as a church to impact our community? Are there hurdles within our church that keep me from taking a risk?

It was these very questions (and many more) that led us to conduct exclusive research involving hundreds of people actively working in children’s ministry to discover what leads mild-mannered children’s ministers to step outside their comfort zones–accepting incredible risk–all in the name of ministering to kids.

In this State of the Church report, we explore the risks and obstacles children’s ministers face when pursuing their ministry goals–and the paths they take as they soar higher to follow their dreams.

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Children's Ministry Magazine is the MOST read magazine for children's ministry. It's packed with practical, authentic ministry ideas to help you become even better at what you do best—lead kids to Jesus. You'll get sound advice and encouragement from today's children's ministry experts, plus hundreds of ideas that'll have kids begging to come back! Available in print and in digital!